************************************************************** IFCSS Headquarters News Release No. 5084 November 3, 1993 ************************************************************** Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS) 733 15th Street, N.W., Suite 440, Washington, D.C.20005 Tel. (202)347-0017 Fax: (202)347-0018 Email: ifcss@wam.umd.edu IFCSS Report on the Remaining CSPA Applicants ============================================= The HQ has maintained close contact with the State Department and INS HQ to keep track of the status of the CSPA implementation. The IFCSS Executive Director has held special discussions with concerned INS officials on the problems faced by the CSPA applicants who have not received approval notice. Here is a summary of the responses we have received: 1. Why is there a slow-down in the CSPA approval? Answer: The four centers are still receiving applications and still sending out approval notices. But some individual cases just take longer to process than others. 2. Is Communist Party membership a possible reason for denial of the application? Answer: The party membership will not be the sole reason for denial, though it may be a complicating factor. The denial will not be based upon your party membership, but on what you have done. 3. How many have filed CSPA applications and how many have been approved? What is the breakdown in the four centers? How much time is still needed to complete processing them? Answer: There are around 60,000 applications received so far, and around 44,000 are already approved. According to INS HQ estimate, it may take another two months and a half to process the rest. However, one can still file applications as late as next June. But the bulk will be finished in two months and a half. The breakdown number for the four centers is not available. 4. What is your suggestion for those whose DED (work permit covered by Bush's executive order) will expire in January 1, 1994? Answer: They need to go to the local INS offices to file I-765 Form to apply for work permit. Such permit might (though not guaranteed) be granted at the spot. 5. Why are some of the CSPA applicants' materials transferred to the local INS offices? Answer: These applicants are mostly chosen for interviews at the local INS offices. There are approximately 15% of the applicants who need to be interviewed. As a last note, Ms. Rita Boie, the key officer in charge of the CSPA implementation, asked Liu Xiaozhu to forward this message to those who have not received approval notices: "There is absolutely no need to worry or panic, and it is natural that some individual cases will take longer to look at." ********************************************************************* * IFCSS Headquarters Office * *-------------------------------------------------------------------* * President: Lin Changsheng Vice President: Shi Heping * * Exec. Director: Liu Xiaozhu Chief of Staff: Huang Songyun * *-------------------------------------------------------------------* * PBS-L is IFCSS's news distribution list for individuals. To sign * * on or off from IFCSS E-mail mailing list, please send email to : * * listserv@ifcss.org * * leave the subject line open and put in the mail body: * * (For signing on) sub PBS-L last_name first_name * * (For signing off) unsub PBS-L last_name first_name * * For more information about IFCSS, write to ifcss-info@ifcss.org * *********************************************************************